ATHOL – Town Manager Shaun Suhoski informed the Selectboard at its meeting on Nov. 7 of an order of conditions allowing for the design of an access road into property identified as a potential site for a hotel/convention center.

The site—owned by the Economic Development and Industrial Corporation—occupies a parcel adjacent to the Dollar Tree store at North Quabbin Commons, near Exit 77 off of Route 2. The order of conditions was issued by the Conservation Commission.

The EDIC parcel is 15 acres in size, and seven of which is considered suitable for construction. The town’s interest in the property dates to the early 1800s, when it was set aside for use by the Athol Poor Farm. The purchase of the property for $100 by the EDIC was approved by Town Meeting vote, and it was conveyed to the corporation in 2007.

The access road, said Suhoski, would include a bridge that will cross some wetlands in the area.

“The timing is good, because now the engineering can be completed,” he said at Tuesday’s meeting. “The permitting is essentially complete with that order of conditions. Now we have a concept footprint, we have the wetlands flagged, now we have a way to access the site and, through a MassDevelopment grant that we received, we’ll get some technical assistance to put together we need…to reach out to the hotel industry to see if we can get a private sector investor.”

Speaking after the meeting, Suhoski said the access road “is kind of the lynchpin to unlock the potential of that site. You need to get there if you’re going to use it.”

The town, he explained, will have to secure an easement to facilitate construction of a small stretch of the road on land owned by Athol Development LLC where the parking lot for Dollar Tree, Asia Gourmet, and other businesses is located.

The MassDevelopment grant, he continued, “(W)ill allow us to tap into an expert. I mean, I don’t know the hotel industry. Maybe there’s somebody in town, but there’s nobody in our local government who is really connected to those investment markets – it’s kind of a niche specialty.

“So, this will connect us with the real estate division at MassDevelopment, which is the state land bank, and they have access to special consultants, whether it’s real estate, marketing, you name it. And that’s what this grant will do; it will give us access to direct professional assistance to reach out to the hospitality industry to see if we can get someone to invest in a hotel and a conference center at that site.”

The $40,000 provided by the grant will pay for the consulting services, said Suhoski. The town manager said he, EDIC Chair Keith McGuirk, and Town Planner Eric Smith spoke recently with MassDevelopment and decided to engage the services of consultant Emily Keys Innes. Innes is also working with Athol’s Downtown Vitality Committee on updating design guidelines for downtown businesses and buildings.

McGuirk had planned to update members of the EDIC on the project at its meeting on Nov. 8, but itwas called off due to the lack of a quorum. This was the third consecutive meeting that had to be canceled, he said, because too few members showed up. Mark Wright was the only member besides McGuirk to make it to Town Hall Wednesday evening.

Suhoski said it will be important to have a quorum at the Dec. 13 EDIC meeting because he, Smith, and corporation members will be meeting with Innes in order to begin developing strategies for marketing the site to the hospitality industry.

Greg Vine can be reached at gvineadn@gmail.com.